# What happens to the "loser" t-shirts? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 4, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-loser-t-shirts/432325 "2008-01-04T22:14:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-loser-t-shirts/432325/1 "2008-01-04T22:14:03Z")
You see this in every game, but watching the Fiesta Bowl the other night and having “WVU 2008 Fiesta Bowl Champions” T-shirts printed up right after the game got me thinking again… Surely they had to print both teams as winners to have them available immediately. So what happens to the “loser” shirts? For example, where are all of the “Oklahoma 2008 Fiesta Bowl Champions” T-shirts? I’m sure they throw them away, but how come you NEVER see one slip out? Surely a worker would slip a couple in his carry out bag? Ideas? ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2008, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-loser-t-shirts/432325/2 "2008-01-04T22:20:26Z")
I used to see them at thrift stores like St. Vincent de Paul and Salvation Army when I lived in New Jersey. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2008, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-loser-t-shirts/432325/3 "2008-01-04T22:24:32Z")
[Some](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/24/world/main3403345.shtml?source=RSSattr=U.S._3403345) now go the poor in Africa. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2008, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-loser-t-shirts/432325/4 "2008-01-04T22:24:31Z")
Different leagues do different things. I think Major League Baseball destroys them, while the NFL sends them to Africa. Edit: [Here’s](http://www.slate.com/id/2133753/) an article. The NFL donates to World Vision, the NBA donates to it’s own Basketball Without Borders. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2008, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-loser-t-shirts/432325/5 "2008-01-04T22:35:14Z")
What’s going to happen to all those fair-weather Buffalo Bills fans in Africa when they realize that their spectacular dynasty… wasn’t? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2008, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-loser-t-shirts/432325/6 "2008-01-04T22:38:21Z")
I would think they would become collectors items, sort of like the “DEWEY WINS” newspaper headline and movie posters with “Revenge of the Jedi.” ---
**Author:** ![T\_SQUARE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de053/32.png) [@T\_SQUARE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T_SQUARE)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-loser-t-shirts/432325/7 "2008-01-05T00:25:20Z")
There used to be a store near me about 15 years ago where you could buy “wrong” Final Four shirts (at the least) for a buck or two. No idea if it’s still around. ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-loser-t-shirts/432325/8 "2008-01-05T02:07:34Z")
You can live by the philosophy of “Don’t throw anything away because someday it will be valuable.” However living like that is more miserable than the process of saving everything. Yes, someday loser T-shirts and caps will be “collecters” items. “This was actually salvaged from a 10 year old kid in the Congo, now it’s for sale for $250 on Ebay.” Put it this way, when you are buying a championship item you are also paying for the gear that was produced for the losers. Save you money that way. In the long run the investment will pay off. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-loser-t-shirts/432325/9 "2008-01-05T02:17:00Z")
When St. Louis was NOT awarded an NFL franchise in the 1990s, all the shirts, caps , pennants and other paraphernalia that had been printed up with the new team logo were shredded. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-loser-t-shirts/432325/10 "2008-01-05T03:25:52Z")
I once read that they have to be destroyed or donated to foreign charities. As part of the licensing agreement, the manufacturers cannot sell them or distribute them anywhere in the United States.